Senior Structural Engineer - Space

The role

You will own analysis and dynamics for space nuclear systems including reactors, spacecraft, and radiators. You will perform stress analysis, build finite element models, and manage the analysis-to-test loop for various structural environments.

What you will do

• Own stress analysis and structural dynamics for space nuclear hardware.
• Support mechanical design and perform structural design work for various components.
• Perform first-order hand calculations for stress, stiffness, and load paths.
• Build, correlate, and maintain finite element models.
• Run detailed structural analyses including static strength, modal, and thermal stress.
• Support coupled thermal-structural analysis for space nuclear systems.
• Define structural analysis plans, load cases, and verification approaches.
• Develop plans for launch loads derivation, test loads, and qualification strategy.
• Work with systems and vehicle teams to interpret launch provider environments.
• Specify and own vibration test planning and execution.

Required qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, Civil/Structural Engineering, Engineering Mechanics, or a related technical discipline.
• 5+ years of experience in structural analysis, stress analysis, structural dynamics, aerospace structures, spacecraft hardware, launch vehicle hardware, mechanical systems, or a related field.
• Strong fundamentals in solid mechanics, strength of materials, structural dynamics, vibration, fatigue, bolted joints, load paths, stiffness, and stability.
• Experience building and running finite element models for complex mechanical or aerospace hardware.
• Experience analyzing static loads, modal response, random vibration, acoustic environments, fatigue, thermal stress, or coupled structural loads.

Nice to have

• Master’s degree or higher in Mechanical Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, Engineering Mechanics, Structural Dynamics, or a related field.
• Experience with spacecraft, launch vehicles, satellites, payloads, space mechanisms, defense systems, nuclear systems, or other high-reliability aerospace hardware.
• Experience with launch loads derivation, coupled loads analysis, notching, force limiting, sine vibration, random vibration, acoustic testing, shock testing, modal survey testing, or model correlation
• Experience planning, specifying, and executing vibration, modal, acoustic, or structural qualification/development tests.
• Experience owning vibration test campaigns.
• Experience selecting, procuring, commissioning, or operating vibration test equipment.
• Experience with FEA tools such as NASTRAN, FEMAP, Patran, Abaqus, ANSYS, HyperMesh, OptiStruct, Simcenter, NX, or equivalent structural analysis software.
• Strong familiarity with Python and git-controlled code repositories.
• Experience with coupled thermal-structural analysis, CTE mismatch, high-temperature structures, refractory materials, radiator structures, heat pipes, reactor support hardware, or nuclear-adjacent mec
• Experience with fatigue, fracture mechanics, creep, buckling, nonlinear contact, preload, bolted joint analysis, bonded joints, weldments, or composite structures.

Before you apply

• Applicant must be a U.S. citizen or national, U.S. lawful, permanent resident, Refugee, or Asylee, or be eligible to obtain required authorizations from the U.S. Department of State.

About the company

Antares is building mass-producible, inherently safe, deployable microreactors for terrestrial, underwater, and space use. The team hails from organizations including SpaceX, the White House, the Pentagon, and various National Laboratories.